Related story

With Google Nexus 7 on the rise, Microsoft wants to (let's call it a hunch) get in the game before consumers begin focusing too much attention on Android.

Android, you know, the OS that seemed to be stuck in neutral on tablets. Until the $199 Nexus 7 arrived. Now, apparently, Google can't make enough of them.

The big question is how many Nexus 7 tablets will Google sell over the coming months.
Google

That's only going to whet consumers' appetites. Instant cachet like this is priceless. It's what every vendor (Motorola comes to mind) dreams of. The kind of cachet that has been reserved for Apple's iPad.

Yes, Surface is a different creature. It has a 10.6-inch screen and the Windows 8 Pro version will sport powerful Intel Ivy Bridge processors.

But if the Android tablet's time has finally come, Microsoft will have yet another dragon to slay -- as if the iPad wasn't already enough.

Now Playing:Watch this:
Microsoft Surface unveiled: The first Microsoft-branded...